“How did you wake up in an alley?” Vanessa screeched, her voice cracking as she jabbed a finger at Samuel. “Do you have any idea how humiliating this is? Samuel… you–are you nning to kill your own mother with
shame?”
“Mom, calm down. We don’t know what happened yet,” ire tried, rubbing her mother’s back, but Vanessa was far beyond calming down.
Her chest heaved as her thoughts spiraled. The news had already spread like wildfire. One night–that’s all it took. One night, and everything she had built was crumbling. Business partners who used <i>to </i>grovel for her attention now turned their backs. Contracts worth millions were being canceled one after another. Hundreds of millions are gone because of her son’s disgrace at the Be event.
And the worst blow? The Arden Family. They refused to answer her calls. The Ardens, the very people she was counting on to pull them back into the fold, were now treating them as if they were dirt under their shoes. If the Ardens walked awaypletely, every other partner would follow.
Vanessa felt her throat close up as she thought of the shares, thepanies, the properties. All of it slipping like sand through her fingers. Because of Samuel. Because of his stupidity. Because of that girl.
She swung her re back to her son, her words sharp as knives. “You–lying half–dead in an alley, in your boxers! Do you understand what you’ve done? People thought you were homeless! My son, a Dwight, reduced to a joke! Do you know how many calls I received this morning? Not to console me, no, but to tell me deals. were canceled! Millions gone! All because of you!”
Samuel sat there, silent, his face pale and empty.
“I asked you to make amends with Emery, and in the end…
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“Mom, Emery must have arranged it. I mean… why would some paparazzi even be there in an alley when my brother woke up?” ire said. Even a child would be smart enough to figure this out. “It’s that bitch’s fault!”
“Of course it’s her fault! That woman needed to learn some manners!” Vanessa’s chest rose and fell rapidly. She almost could not contain her anger anymore. “That woman… I can’t wait for her toe back here. I will make sure that she learns her lesson!”
Vanessa’s fists clenched as her chest tightened further when she noticed a change in Samuel’s expression. “And don’t you dare think this isn’t her fault. Emery. That wretched girl. She nned this. She ruined you on purpose. She ruined all of us.”
ire’s lips tightened, but she didn’t argue. She looked at her brother slumped in silence, then at her mother whose rage only grew with every word.
“You really should stop ming me,” Samuel said atst, breaking the heavy silence. His voice was t, but when he finally lifted his head, his eyes were sharp as he red at his mother. “If anyone should be med for this mess, it’s you.”
Vanessa froze. “You-”
“Samuel!” ire snapped immediately. “You can’t talk to our mother like that.”
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But Samuel didn’t back down. His words came fast, like a dam breaking. “It was you who wanted me to marry Talia. You pushed and pushed until I gave in. And Emery—” his jaw tightened—“you were the one who bullied her behind my back. Don’t think I don’t know. You made her handwash all my clothes. You forced her to clean the whole house. You demanded she cook every meal by hand, and you dressed it up as some kind of
‘test.“”
He leaned forward now. “It wasn’t me who pushed her away. It was you. You did it, not me.”
Vanessa’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Her face reddened, and her hand trembled as she pointed at him. “You-”
“Alright, you two… stop ming each other,” ire cut in quickly, trying to calm the rising tension. “If anything, the only person to me here is Emery. Think about it. If she had just told us she was a Be, then we wouldn’t have tested her the way we did. She should have been upfront. She should have understood what was at stake.”
She lifted her chin, her voice gaining more certainty as she went on. “The Bes have always kept their wealth quiet, lowkey, even secretive, because they wanted to protect it. That’s what we were doing too, protecting ours. So how could anyone me us for the way we treated her?”
Almost instantly, both Vanessa and Samuel turned to stare at her. ire blinked at their reaction, confused. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
She gestured helplessly. “It’s the truth, isn’t it? She was the one hiding who she really was. What was she expecting? For us to wee her with open arms when she introduced herself as someone who came from nothing? Of course, our first instinct was to protect our wealth!”
“Your sister is right,” Vanessa cut in. “The only one to me here is Emery. If she truly loved you, Samuel, then why would she hide something like this? Our Dwight Family might not match the Bes in wealth, but we are established. We are respected. We are not some mediocre family she should be ashamed of!”
Samuel sighed. “Emery wanted nothing to do with me,” he said.
“Then she’s ying hard to get!” Vanessa said. “Now that they revealed the truth, she must have wanted you to grovel and beg for her forgiveness.”
Vanessa leaned forward. “Listen to me, Samuel. I may hate that woman to my very core, but you—” she jabbed a finger at him. “You need to apologize. Do you understand? You swallow your pride now. You go to her, you beg if you have to, and once she forgives you, once the Bes open their doors to us… then you show her who the boss really is.”
ire nodded quickly, backing her mother up. “Mom’s right. This is the only way. You can’t let her think she’s above you forever”
Samuel’s eyes darkened, his jaw tight, but before he could respond, the door swung open. Roni, his secretary, rushed in, breathless and clutching a folder.
“Sir–Madam–there’s an emergency,” he blurted out.
Vanessa’s head snapped toward him. “What emergency?”
Roni’s face was pale. “The board. They’ve just called an emergency meeting. They’re demanding both of you
9:30 Mon, Sep 15 <b>d </b>
…
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attend immediately. They said It cannot wait. I— I believe they might want to fire… Mr. Dwight as the CEO of thepany.”